KOCHI: Two youths were killed and three injured following a head-on collision between a car and bike on the Container Road at Cheranallur early on Saturday .The deceased have been identified as Royce (19), son of Johny Antony of Mulavukadu, Ernakulam and Jithendra (26), a construction engineer from Andhra Pradesh.Jithendra, who hails from West Godavari in Andhra, had been working in Kochi for the past four years. The accident happened when he was returning home after work.The car in which youths including the deceased Royce was travelling had rammed the bike driven by Jithendra. The car toppled after the crash and Royce who was driving the vehicle was killed.Those who were injured in the accident are Glensi Silva (20), Roy (18) and Abhilash (20).The accident had happened near a petrol pump in Cheranallur and locals tried to rescue those who were trapped in the car. However, Royce who was driving the car succumbed to injuries later at the hospital.Hospital sources said that except for Abhilash, others who survived the mishap had minor injuries. Abhilash is recuperating at a hospital here.The traffic police had been trying to reduce the rate of accidents in the container road through strict enforcement of traffic rules.In 2016, as many as 58 accidents happened on container road stretching from from North Kalamassery to Cheranelloor. The mishaps resulted in deaths of six people and injuries to 64 in 2016. The number came down to 40 in 2017. Only one accident death was recorded in the stretch that year.“Most accident deaths are due to rash and negligent driving and riding bikes without helmets,” said officials.

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